'This is a lovely book to dip into, and you may even find yourself reading it cover to cover' - the Guardian 'An enlightening and entertaining read that will leave the reader armed with the facts and insight to improve their garden as well as their general knowledge' - The English Garden RHS How Do Worms Work? provides expert answers to the questions that every gardener wants to ask - and a few that you never even dreamt of. As well as answering the titular question about soil's best friend, this fact-filled journey through the world of the garden is packed with Q&As that are sometimes practical, sometimes whimsical and always intriguing. This richly illustrated volume is an absorbing guide to the quirky and lesser-known aspects of gardening and a perfect gift for any gardener with an inquisitive mind. With sections on Seeds and Plants; Flowers and Fruits; Below the Ground; Weather, Climate and the Seasons; and In the Garden, RHS How Do Worms Work? holds the answers to common questions such as: - What's the difference between a fruit and a vegetable? - Is it true that sunflower heads follow the sun? - When is a plant a weed? - How do you attract butterflies? - How long can a plant survive without water? and many more.

'Britain's ten million acres of private gardens add up to a vital haven for wildlife. Chock-a-block with ideas for encouraging wildlife into your plot, this pocket-sized book tells you how to make your off-street parking wildlife-friendly, why you should welcome wasps into the garden and whether you should let ladybirds overwinter in your home. One for budding David Attenboroughs.' - Mail on Sunday Foreword written by Isabella Tree of the Knepp Wildland Project. RHS How Can I Help Hedgehogs? offers more than 100 ideas for you to help wildlife thrive in your garden. Packed with simple, low-cost ideas that will make a huge difference to the natural world, the book suggests ways to help birds, bees, butterflies, beetles and many other declining species. Hopeful, informative and entertaining, with plenty of 'I-never-knew-that' mini-features, this is a book you and your family need, and one that you'll all enjoy, too. Includes topics such as how to increase the biodiversity of your plot and how to improve your soil without using chemicals. Includes... - Can I make my garden bat-friendly? - Do green roofs work? - Why should I love my weeds? - Should I keep honey bees? - Which flowers are friendliest for moths? - Where's best for a bird box? - Is garden lighting disruptive? ...and many more.

RHS Can Anything Stop Slugs assists with all of the most common problems encountered in a garden - as well as some slightly more unusual ones. The RHS's Chief Horticulturist, Guy Barter, provides expert advice, responding to the questions posed by thousands of gardeners every year. This entertaining and informative guide provides a wealth of information. Feature boxes of interesting facts enable you to really get to grips with the issue at hand. As the cause of a problem is not always apparent, the main symptom is used as the starting point in each section, enabling you to troubleshoot all your garden problems. This is not a dull reference book full of lists - it is an easy-to-read and amusing look at how we battle with nature in our gardens, showing you how to either come out top or to surrender with dignity.

Soil is essential to life on Earth, and this ebook explains exactly how it impacts different areas of our lives - from the link between soil and climate change, to growing the food that we eat, and why we need to protect the ground. Under Your Feet delves beneath the Earth's surface and explores the diverse wonders hidden there. Encounter creatures of the deep and marvel at the mind-boggling size of the humongous fungus - the biggest organism in the world. Discover all the stuff you never knew about the world under your feet, from exactly what soil is made of, to the creepy crawly creatures who make it their home. Learn how one handful of ordinary soil contains more organisms than there are people on Earth, and carry out experiments using dirt from your own back garden. Under Your Feet offers you the opportunity to expand your knowledge of the natural world and soil-dwelling creatures big and small. Bursting with colourful illustrations and photography, this is the perfect book for budding young plant experts, animal fanatics, and geologists, and anyone who is curious about the ground we walk on.

Discover more than 100 ideas to help you become an eco-friendly gardener. RHS Do Bees Need Weeds is packed with more than 100 practical questions and answers to help you become a more eco-friendly gardener, and show you how to adopt a more sustainable way of gardening. The book includes simple, low-cost ideas, from fun projects such as how to build a wormery or a homemade water butt to advice on which plants suit bees best and how to achieve a zero-waste garden. In these pages you will find dozens of solutions to common garden problems as well as inspiring innovations that reduce your gardening consumption, tackle waste and help the environment. Filled with fascinating facts and ideas that will help you make a real difference to the green credentials of your garden, this book is both informative and entertaining, with plenty of I-never-knew-that mini-features. This is a book you and your family need, and one that you'll all enjoy, too. Includes questions such as: - Which features will make my garden greener? - Are my garden lights harmful? - How can a lawn be wildlife-friendly? - Is it ever OK to have a bonfire? - Are there alternatives to plastic? - Can I grow year-round crops? - Is it OK to buy compost?

Fully revised and updated by the author, this is the perennial and comprehensive guide to the art of wildlife gardening from the RHS, freshly illustrated and bursting with new ideas, ideas and projects. Gardening and wildlife make perfect partners. So many people are discovering that by choosing the right plants for nectar and fruit, providing some shelter and safety, a little extra food and water, and a nest box or two, any garden, balcony or backyard can be dramatically brought to life. This best-selling book was first published as How to Make a Wildlife Garden, and launched at the 1985 Chelsea Flower Show, making wildlife a mainstream issue for gardeners and the public. Now fully revised and updated by the author, this beautiful new freshly illustrated edition highlights the changes in garden wildlife over the past 35 years. Incorporating RHS research, updated best practice and addressing a multitude of controversial conservation issues, this stunning guide is also a celebration of the rich variety of wild plants and animals that can bring a beautiful garden to life. Packed full of practical advice from which plants to choose for bees, birds and butterflies, how to construct the ideal wildlife pond, where to position nesting boxes and how to enjoy wildlife in any size of outdoor space, this authoritative companion shows how wildlife gardening can make a stylish and enjoyable contribution to the environment, inspiring new gardeners while also delighting the very many owners of the best-selling original.

Put the fun into gardening with this great family guide to growing plants indoors and out, all year round. How do plants work? How can I grow tomatoes? How can I encourage garden wildlife? RHS Get Growing will answer all these questions in a fun and accessible guide. Perfect for parents and children who enjoy engaging with the outdoors and want to do more activities together, or for beginner gardeners just starting out, this book explains how plants work, describes the building blocks of gardening, and shows how to grow everything from cacti to cucumbers. With great facts and practical projects, giving the reader a lot of information, it's an ideal, hands-on introduction for complete beginners, and designed to inspire a life-long love of gardening. In this book, you will learn to: Learn about the plants and animals that make up the ecosystem of any garden Plant seeds together with your children and watch as they grow Carry out experiments – from making a wormery to mapping rain shadows Make delicious recipes from your home-grown produce The projects and experiments are bite-sized and self-contained, ideal for weekends, holidays and even home-schooling. This book is ideal for parents and teachers who want to get kids connected with nature, experiencing the world and relating to the food that they eat. All the guidance is backed by scientific and educational research, drawn together by the team of RHS experts. Get your children growing shoots and seeds, whatever their ages, and watch them fall in love with the natural world with RHS Get Growing, the complete family gardening guide.

Is it okay to use potting compost? Which plants are best for absorbing pollution? What's the alternative to carbon-packed fertilisers? How can I cut out single-use plastics? Aspects of gardening can actually be bad for the environment. But make a few changes and you can significantly reduce the carbon imprint of your outdoor space, and even use it to lessen the impact of your other activities. This green gardening e-book will make growing your own garden easy, enjoyable, and eco-friendly. It includes sections on: - How to grow plants that reduce your carbon footprint - Creating a garden that considers the local wildlife - Tips on setting up your garden, low-impact plants, and best fertilisers to use Turn your outdoor space into a low-impact, carbon-absorbing sink. This e-book is packed with ideas to grow a climate-friendly garden that will help protect the planet. Keen on starting your own garden but unsure about your environmental impact? This guide will give you practical advice on which soil to use, plants that are best for absorbing carbon dioxide, low-carbon fertilisers, and cutting out single-use plastic. What's more, this garden book is completely backed by scientific research! Share in the delight of eco-conscious gardening when you start using RHS How to Garden the Low Carbon Way as your guide. Explore the benefits of no-dig gardening, how to use fewer plants, using hedges instead of fences, how to grow shrubs that support wildlife, and more! Green Gardening: Low environmental impact This RHS gardening book is a simple, step-by-step guide to learn about gardening or to reference as your garden grows. You'll quickly become acquainted with the benefits of growing a garden that positively contributes to the environment.

Plan smart, grow sustainably, and eat healthily with home-grown crops for every day of the year. In Grow Your Own Veg Through the Year experts from the world-renowned Royal Horticultural Society reveal the best vegetables and herbs to grow today, with practical advice to produce healthy harvests from any size of plot. From the widest range of tomatoes and potatoes to the more eclectic edibles such as oca and ginger, this book shows you how to: * Choose vegetables, herbs, edible flowers and exotic crops for the best home-grown taste * Pick plants for every situation: sun, shade, dry soil, damp soil, pots, raised beds, vertical veg and windowsills * Make plans for a rainbow harvest and great gut health * Grow crops using RHS sustainable practice to support eco-systems, and protect wildlife and the planet * Plan your year to save time and energy and to maximize what you can grow * Feel confident with 120+ crops, grouped into families, with problem-solving tips and best varieties

Are you interested in growing your own plants from scratch? This reference book will teach you how to propagate virtually every type of plant. If you're a thrifty gardener who wants more plants for free, then this book is perfect for you! From fruit trees and ornamental shrubs to exotic orchids and succulents, get all the info you'll need to propagate plants at your fingertips. Discover the experts' secrets to perfecting plant propagation with this easy-to-follow gardening manual. A horticulturist's delight, this new edition features more than 1,800 detailed illustrations and photos that show both practical step-by-step gardening techniques and the plants themselves. How long do your seedlings need to germinate? What makes a healthy stem cutting? How do you know what type of rootstock to use when grafting plants? Find out the answer to these questions and more in the most comprehensive guide to propagating plants ever published. From palms and roses to culinary herbs and conifers, each chapter contains popular and botanically interesting plant groups. Explore the modes of propagation that are unique to the featured plants. Learn about their characteristic ways of reproduction and how these are exploited in various techniques. The techniques are fully illustrated with step-by-step photographs and explanatory artworks. The plants' special needs are discussed, with expert tips on how to achieve success. This gardening book is crammed with hundreds of step-by-step tutorials and clear advice, ranging from straightforward and simple to more in-depth. The rating system in the plant-by-plant A-Z dictionaries provides you with a quick reference to the relative ease or difficulty of each method of propagation. Fill Your Garden with Beautiful Plants for Next-To-Nothing Plant propagation is a fun, rewarding, and inexpensive way to add shrubs to your garden or multiply your collection of houseplants. This book helps you successfully reach your goals while steering you clear of common mistakes. It's an indispensable reference book for every propagator's bookshelf. Use this comprehensive gardening guide to: - Find out how to propagate more than 1500 garden plants. - Follow the visual step-by-step guides and authoritative advice on cutting, layering, sowing, grafting, and more. - Consult the experts from the horticulture team at the Royal Horticultural Society.